Thousands of Palestinian teachers protest, demand raises

Ramallah: Thousands of Palestinian teachers are protesting next to government offices in the West Bank demanding a salary hike.

Today's demonstration follows two weeks of protests that have included a school strike of more than three days.

Palestinian police were deployed across Ramallah, where the Palestinian Authority is headquartered, to block busloads of teachers from elsewhere in the West Bank from joining the demonstration.

The teachers say the Palestinian Authority has not fulfilled a 2013 pledge to give them a 10 percent raise.

The Western-backed authority is going through a severe fiscal crisis and is struggling to pay government employees.

Teachers make up the largest group and say their salaries are meager in comparison to others. The PA says it doesn't have the resources to meet their demands.